Jun 21, 2025
Take Action: Stop the BILL to Sell Off Public Lands
Just a few weeks ago, the outdoor community helped remove 500,000 acres of land sales from the House version of this bill. Now the Senate is back with an even more extreme version—and we need your voice to stop it. Here are the maps of the nearly 300,000,000 acres of lands that could be open for these proposed sales.
https://outdooralliance.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html
You can use the easy-action form below to write your Senators about how this package will affect the outdoors. Lawmakers need to hear that public lands should be managed for people and the future, not sold off for tax cuts or given away to developers.
Help protect the public lands you love. Send a message to your Senators today.
https://action.outdooralliance.org/a/reconciliation-senate/
Jun 19, 2025
Brain Rot from ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt (MIT Study)
The study revealed that frequent AI users experienced a measurable decline in creative and critical thinking. Brain scans tracked alpha and beta waves—markers of real cognitive effort—and showed clear drops compared to non-users. Even worse, when chronic users were forced to write without AI, they performed worse than those who had never used it at all.
MIT researchers call this "cognitive debt." Every shortcut you take with AI racks up hidden costs in lost brain power. The more you rely on it, the more you weaken your own thinking.
Mar 21, 2025
I sharp decline in youth happiness began around 2012-2013, coinciding with smartphone and social media adoption
Why Is This Happening?
The timing offers possible clues about causes. Many downward trends in youth happiness began around 2012-2013, coinciding with widespread smartphone adoption and social media mainstreaming. This has led researchers to question how modern communication methods might be affecting young people's mental health.
Research shows face-to-face social interaction – vital for mental health – has declined more among young adults than older generations, possibly replaced by digital communication. Social media may also foster negative worldviews through constant exposure to idealized versions of others' lives.
Other possible factors include widening income inequality (linked to lower psychological well-being) and major economic disruptions like the Great Recession, COVID-19, and post-pandemic inflation.
Please read full at:
https://studyfinds.org/happiness-young-adults-mid-life-crisis/
Jan 22, 2025
Micro- and Nanoplastics: Fatal Material Flaws
One Hundred Billion
Last August marked the fiftieth anniversary of plastic pollution landing the cover of Science.
The August 1974 issue pictured a petri dish teaming with plastic particles netted from the Caribbean and the waters off the eastern United States. Depending on the location, sometimes half, sometimes two-thirds of the researchers' plankton samples contained plastic particles, ranging from preproduction pellets to smaller slips of foam, film, and even fragments of (what the researchers surmised were) former tableware, food containers, and other disposable items. The feral plastics had been collected during the summer of 1972, as worldwide production of plastics approached 100 billion pounds per year* and atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) climbed to 327 parts per million (ppm).
One Hundred Ninety Billion
A decade later, in 1984, 150 marine scientists gathered in Hawaii to discuss the proliferation of plastic debris. The conference caught the attention of the New York Times, which on Christmas Day ran the headline: "Deadly Tide of Plastic Waste Threatens Worlds' Oceans." The plastics industry produced 190 billion pounds of plastics that year. Carbon dioxide topped 334 ppm.
Soon Ronald Reagan's White House convened an Interagency Task Force on Marine Debris. The marine biologist Kathryn O'Hara founded the International Coastal Cleanup and published A Citizen's Guide to Plastics in the Ocean. Beach cleanups became popular, even regular events.
Three Hundred Billion
Richard Thompson organized one such cleanup in the early 1990s as global production rates exceeded 300 billion pounds per annum. Thompson was a graduate student at the University of Liverpool. He busied himself carting plastics off UK shorelines where he'd meant to be studying algae and limpets. As Thompson cataloged the gleanings – some 20,000 items – he assigned them to categories: "bottles, bags, rope, netting." But much more of what he'd found wasn't identifiable. He couldn't parse their former function or what product they once contained, he wrote in The Conversation last year. Absent a category, he worried, a predominant kind of plastic pollution was going un- or underreported.
Eventually, he wondered: as plastics fragment into smaller pieces, how small do the pieces get? At the University of Plymouth, he challenged his graduate students to investigate. They placed sand and other shoreline sediment under the microscope; they looked in the guts of marine life and in plankton samples from the 1960s and 1970s. Everywhere the researchers found tiny fibers and trace fragments, their levels increasing as time passed.
Five Hundred Sixty-Four Billion
In 2004, Thompson, joined by seven others, published their findings (also in Science), naming the category: microplastics. That year, the global industry produced more than 564 billion pounds of plastics. CO2 levels approached 378 ppm.
Microplastics research bloomed. In just two decades, seven thousand research publications have documented the planetary spread of microplastics into the deep sea, the atmosphere, or mixed into soil. Research showed microplastics weren't just the result of pellet releases or the environmental weathering of larger items, but also intentionally added to products and generated during use, shedding from tires and painted surfaces, from wearing and not just washing synthetic fabrics, and from the mundane acts of twisting open plastic-capped bottles or ripping into plastic-bagged foods. Now researchers are developing even more sensitive methods to detect particles as small as viruses in bodies, in organs, and even cells. (See Thompson and colleagues' twenty-year retrospective in Science and Dr. Ted Schettler's piece in this issue).
Jan 5, 2025
Toxic waste from India's 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy site moved for disposal after 40 years
Dec 11, 2024
A few minutes of 'incidental' exercise may cut heart attack risks in half, study finds
Everyday activities like walking the dog around the block, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, scrubbing the floors, and raking the leaves all fall into the bucket of "incidental exercise." Researchers from the University of Sydney analyzed the value of these activities when it comes to preventing major adverse cardiovascular events, like heart attacks.
Women who got 1.5-4 minutes of daily incidental exercise had a nearly 50% lower risk of cardiovascular issues compared to those who said they never engaged in such activities. The results were slightly less dramatic for the men in the study: Those who got 5.6 minutes of incidental exercise per day saw a 16% reduction in their risk of major cardiovascular events.
"Doing something is likely better than nothing is the take-home message about incidental exercise," cardiologist Luke Laffin, who was not involved in the research, told Yahoo Life, noting that it's still ideal to have a more robust workout routine. Get some ideas on how to incorporate incidental exercise into your daily life.
One in five new colorectal cancer patients in the United States is under 55
Here's the really scary part: While death rates for colorectal cancer patients over 65 are dropping, they are increasing among younger patients. Scientists say these early cancers can be more deadly because they are often not caught until it's too late for treatment. (Colonoscopies are not recommended until age 45.)
Please read full at: https://www.vox.com/explain-it-to-me/389508/cancer-early-young-adults-colon-breast-explained
Dec 9, 2024
Final EPA rules ban all uses of TCE, all consumer uses and many commercial uses of PCE, require worker protections for all remaining uses under the Toxic Substances Control Act
TCE is an extremely toxic chemical known to cause liver cancer, kidney cancer, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. TCE also causes damage to the central nervous system, liver, kidneys, immune system, reproductive organs, and fetal heart defects. These risks are present even at very small concentrations. Under today's rule, all uses of TCE will be banned over time (with the vast majority of identified risks eliminated within one year), and safer alternatives are readily available for the majority of uses.
PCE is known to cause liver, kidney, brain and testicular cancer, as well as damage to the kidney, liver and immune system, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity. Today's final rule will better protect people from these risks by banning manufacture, processing and distribution in commerce of PCE for all consumer uses and many commercial uses, while allowing some workplace uses to continue only where robust workplace controls can be implemented.
"It's simply unacceptable to continue to allow cancer-causing chemicals to be used for things like glue, dry cleaning or stain removers when safer alternatives exist," said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. "These rules are grounded in the best-available science that demonstrates the harmful impacts of PCE and TCE. EPA continues to deliver on actions that protect people, including workers and children, under the nation's premier bipartisan chemical safety law."
PCE and TCE are both nonflammable chlorinated solvents that are volatile organic compounds. PCE can biodegrade into TCE, and PCE may contain trace amounts of TCE as an impurity or a contaminant. The chemicals can often serve as alternatives for each other. For several uses of TCE that will be totally prohibited, there is an analogous use of PCE that can continue safely in perpetuity under workplace controls. Some examples of uses that will be prohibited under the TCE rule, but will continue under the PCE rule include: industrial and commercial use as an energized electrical cleaner, in laboratory use for asphalt testing and recovery, use to make refrigerants and other chemicals, and for vapor degreasing.
"Over 40 years ago, a mother named Anne Anderson from Woburn, Massachusetts, approached me and started a crusade to keep any more children like Jimmy Anderson, her son, from dying from cancer caused by toxic chemicals. Anne's work directly led to this announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency that I am overjoyed to celebrate today alongside her and every community that stands to benefit—a finalized ban on trichloroethylene and most uses of perchloroethylene, two chemicals that cause cancer, affect reproductive systems, are neurotoxic, and compromise immune systems," said Senator Ed Markey (D-MA). "Despite their dangers, these chemicals could still be found in industries like dry cleaning, automotive repair and manufacturing. With no doubt that these chemicals are deadly, there is no doubt that this final rule will save lives—especially our children's lives—around the country."
"The Camp Lejeune contaminated drinking water issue has dragged on over the better part of forty years ever since TCE, PCE and other organic solvents were first documented in the base's drinking water supply in October 1980," said Jerry M. Ensminger, Retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant. "My daughter, Janey, was conceived aboard Camp Lejeune during the drinking water contamination and died of leukemia in 1985, at the age of nine. I first began my fight for justice in 1997, and was later joined by Mike Partain in 2007, who was also conceived aboard the base and diagnosed with male breast cancer at the age of 39. Mike and I welcome this ban on TCE by the EPA and this is proof that our fight for justice at Camp Lejeune was not in vain."
Please full at:
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-latest-actions-under-nations-chemical-safety-law
Dec 5, 2024
EPA Reforms New Chemicals Review Process to Better Protect Public Health, Promote Efficiency and Consistency
EPA - the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized amendments to the regulations that govern the Agency's review of new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to ensure that new per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals with potential for human exposure are always subject to the full, robust safety review process prior to manufacture. Under TSCA, EPA plays an important role by reviewing the potential risks of new chemicals before they can enter U.S. commerce and, when necessary, putting safeguards in place to protect human health and the environment. Today's final rule also improves efficiency and aligns with the 2016 bipartisan TSCA amendments under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, and is largely similar to the rule EPA proposed in May 2023.
"EPA's review of new chemicals should encourage innovation, while also making sure that new chemistries can be used safely before they are allowed to enter commerce," said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chem...
Please read on from source:
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-reforms-new-chemicals-review-process-better-protect-public-health-promote
Nov 26, 2024
In total this year, at least 16 states adopted 22 PFAS-related measures.
This year, at least 16 states have adopted 22 PFAS-related measures to either reduce or ban them from products or hold companies to account for the harm their products have caused. Of those 16 states, at least 11 have enacted laws to restrict the use of "forever chemicals" in everyday consumer products or firefighting foam. This includes bans on PFAS in apparel, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetic products, and menstrual items. In other states, lawmakers have passed measures that require companies to pay for testing or cleanup of these chemicals, disclose the use of PFAS in their products, and mandate the development of PFAS alternatives.
EPA Report Shows US Fuel Economy Hits Record High and CO2 Emissions Reach a Record Low
The 2024 EPA Automotive Trends Report celebrates its 50th anniversary and continues a long tradition of providing the public with a highly detailed look at progress in the auto industry.
"This report provides a critical data-driven affirmation that strong, technology-neutral standards can underpin environmental progress while saving drivers money at the pump," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "Manufacturers continue to innovate and are bringing technologies to market which will directly improve air quality, better protecting people's health and saving lives."
Over the course of 50 years, there have been many notable vehicle emission and public health accomplishments. Since EPA began keeping data in 1975, vehicles today are roughly 99% cleaner for common pollutants (such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particle emissions) which can help alleviate adverse health effects such as asthma and heart problems, and limit hospital days and cancer. In addition, fuel economy in the United States has improved from 13.1 miles per gallon in MY 1975 to 27.1 mpg for MY 2023 vehicles.
Nov 21, 2024
(The uardian) Five firms in plastic pollution alliance ‘made 1,000 times more plastic than they cleaned up’
Oil and chemical companies who created a high-profile alliance to end plastic pollution have produced 1,000 times more new plastic in five years than the waste they diverted from the environment, according to new data obtained by Greenpeace.
The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) was set up in 2019 by a group of companies which include ExxonMobil, Dow, Shell, TotalEnergies and ChevronPhillips, some of the world's biggest producers of plastic. They promised to divert 15m tonnes of plastic waste from the environment in five years to the end of 2023, by improving collection and recycling, and creating a circular economy.
"The recycling schemes they're promoting can barely make a dent in all the plastic these companies are pumping out," he said. "They're letting the running tap flood the house while trying to scoop up the water with a teaspoon. The only solution is to cut the amount of plastic produced in the first place."
Bill McKibben, a US environmentalist, said: "It's hard to imagine a clearer example of greenwashing in this world. The oil and gas industry – which is pretty much the same thing as the plastics industry – has been at this for decades."
Read on from source:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/20/five-firms-in-plastic-pollution-alliance-made-1000-times-more-waste-than-they-saved-analysis-shows
EPA Launches New Initiative to Tackle PFAS, Identify Emerging Contaminants in Water
The Tackling Emerging Contaminants initiative will help eligible public drinking-water systems evaluate emerging contaminant issues, conduct initial water quality testing, and identify next steps in 200 small or disadvantaged communities over the next three years. EPA will also share best practices and amplify successes through case studies, fact sheets, webinars, and other resources regarding addressing emerging contaminants, including PFAS.
"The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is providing a focused opportunity to help small and disadvantaged communities address PFAS and emerging contaminants to ensure that drinking water is clean and safe for residents," said EPA Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water Bruno Pigott. "By working hand-in-hand with local partners, the Tackling Emerging Contaminants initiative will help ensure that historically underserved areas have access to safer drinking water that is essential for healthy and vibrant communities."
President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has provided an unprecedented $50 billion to improve water infrastructure across the nation. Of this funding, $5 billion is dedicated to the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) grant program, which supports this latest technical-assistance initiative.
EPA's free water technical assistance initiatives help communities identify their water challenges, develop plans, build capacity, and develop their application materials to access federal funding. The Tackling Emerging Contaminants initiative builds on EPA's robust suite of technical assistance programs and includes diagnostic water quality sampling and analysis, source water assessment, preliminary treatment design and evaluations, operational and sampling training, and identifying solutions to address emerging contaminants and PFAS contamination including community engagement and outreach support.
In April 2024, EPA issued the PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation to protect communities from exposure to harmful PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals." Exposure to PFAS has been linked to adverse health impacts that include some cancers, liver and heart disease, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children.
Communities can learn more about EPA's new Tackling Emerging Contaminants initiative, on EPA's WaterTA website.
Nov 14, 2024
Some good news: Greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union fell by 37 percent below 1990 levels
The massive reduction in pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels in 2023 was aided by the ramping up of renewables like solar and wind, as well as the shutting down of coal-fired power plants.
A world without OSHA: Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion giga-project The Line reaches new milestone after reports that 21,000 workers had died
NEWSWEEK: The largest construction project in Saudi Arabia has reached a new milestone amid growing concerns about the nation's workplace safety.
The city of Neom, which is the largest construction site in the world, announced that neighborhood planning and design for the 105-mile-long "linear city" will begin in 2025, with new global partners steering the process.
The announcement comes after a documentary shown by U.K. broadcaster ITV alleged that 21,000 foreign workers had died and another 100,000 more have gone missing while working on Saudi Arabian megaprojects.
In a statement released on Monday, Neom announced that the city, also known as The Line, would soon be entering "Phase One" of construction, heralded by the appointment of British development consultancy firm Mott MacDonald as the city infrastructure engineer.
Global design firm Gensler was also announced as the city's planning consultant, responsible for designing microclimate, mobility, logistics, and sustainability for the city, which aims to house 9 million residents once completed.
Source:
Oct 7, 2024
Reduction of daily-use parabens and phthalates reverses accumulation of cancer-associated phenotypes within disease-free breast tissue of study subjects
This month serves as a reminder to focus not only on screenings and treatments but also on the everyday factors that could influence breast health.
One such area gaining attention is the role of chemicals found in personal care products and their potential link to breast cancer risk.
This research involved female volunteers who discontinued the use of beauty and personal care products containing harmful chemicals like parabens and phthalates for just 28 days.
The findings revealed a remarkable reversal of cancer-associated gene expressions in their breast tissue, suggesting that reducing exposure to these xenoestrogens could positively influence breast cell health.
Specifically, the study demonstrated that the subjects experienced significant changes in their breast cells, turning off certain genes linked to breast cancer.
This aligns perfectly with the goals of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, emphasizing the importance of making informed choices about the products we use daily.
By switching to paraben- and phthalate-free products, we can potentially reduce the risk of breast cancer and promote overall well-being.
Oct 2, 2024
Weekend warriors and regular exercisers had a lower risk of developing over 200 different diseases
The research, conducted by a team of scientists from prestigious institutions, including Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute, analyzed data from nearly 90,000 participants in the UK Biobank study. Using wrist-worn accelerometers to measure physical activity, the researchers found that both weekend warriors and regular exercisers had a lower risk of developing over 200 different diseases compared to inactive individuals.
What sets this study apart is its comprehensive approach. While previous research has focused on specific health outcomes like cardiovascular disease or mortality, this investigation cast a wider net, examining associations between physical activity patterns and 678 different medical conditions.
The results, published in the journal Circulation, offer more good news for weekend warriors. Those who met the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week, even if concentrated in just one or two days, showed a reduced risk for a wide range of ailments. These included not only cardiovascular diseases but also metabolic disorders, digestive issues, and even some musculoskeletal and dermatological conditions.
Perhaps most notably, the study found particularly strong associations between physical activity and lower risk of cardiometabolic conditions. Both weekend warriors and regular exercisers showed approximately 50% lower risk of developing conditions like hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and sleep apnea compared to their inactive counterparts.
"Physical activity is known to affect risk of many diseases," says co-senior author Dr. Shaan Khurshid, a faculty member in the Demoulas Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias at Massachusetts General Hospital, in a statement. "Here, we show the potential benefits of weekend warrior activity for risk not only of cardiovascular diseases, as we've shown in the past, but also future diseases spanning the whole spectrum, ranging from conditions like chronic kidney disease to mood disorders and beyond."
Source Study:
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.068669
Sep 5, 2024
Invitation to Join the Green Chemistry Teaching and Learning Community (GCTLC)
From Sept. 3 to Sept. 6, visit the "Ask Me Anything" forum space on the GCTLC to post questions for Dr. Warner. He will be on hand during this period to answer your questions (time permitting!).
You need to be a GCTLC registered user in order to post your questions and view his answers. If you aren't signed up yet, go to the log in page on the site, then click the Create A New Account button. Registration is free.